coputers

[Doug Henwood]

Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 16:41:27 -0500
From: Enrique Diaz-Alvarez <enrique at anise.ee.cornell.edu>
Organization: Cornell University
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To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
Subject: Re: productivity miracle or workhouse?
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Brad De Long wrote:


>
>  And the pace of TFP growth in computer manufacturing is awesome.

Yes, if you assume that today's $2,000 computer with Pentium III 600 MHz
is twice as "good" as last years $2,000 computer with a 300 MHz chip.
Which is a crock. From a user perspective, outside a few specialized
applications, they are equivalent.

The good news is that people are realizing this, switching to $700
computers, and, more importantly, keeping them until they break. Maybe
*now* we will be able to see real productivity improvements, instead of
pissing them away in the upgrade treadmill.

--
Enrique Diaz-Alvarez            Office # (607) 255 5034
Electrical Engineering          Home #   (607) 272 4808
112 Phillips Hall               Fax #    (607) 255 4565
Cornell University              mailto:enrique at ee.cornell.edu
Ithaca, NY 14853                http://peta.ee.cornell.edu/~enrique